A pristine sky and temperatures of 27° in the air and 35° on the track are the conditions that welcomed the drivers to the Estoril circuit for this first European race of the 2020 season, in this case that of the European Talent Cup.
During qualifying, it was the Colombian David Alonso (OpenBank Aspar Team) who managed to win in front of a whole host of Spaniards and the Dutch Zonta van der Goorbergh (Team SuperB) while the first French, Matéo Pédeneau (MHP-Tech Solutions), will start from the sixth row.
From the start, the Colombian, who received advice from the world champion Nico Terol, left his opponents no chance, gradually escaping in front of a group of around ten pilots led by Ángel Piqueras (Team Talent Estrella), until reaching almost four seconds in advance at the halfway mark, when the yellow flag was displayed for a few moments.
Meanwhile, Matéo Pédeneau (MHP-Tech Solutions), which was in 19th position, was forced to retire and it was Gabin Planques (Larresport Carré d'or) which seized the tricolor standard-bearer, in 20th place.
At the end of the race, the suspense consisted solely of knowing who was going to come out on top in the fight that was enlivening the peloton, between Ivan Ortola (OpenBank Aspar Team), Adrian Cruces (Cuna de campeones) and Angel Piqueras (Team Talent Estrella) taking turns snatching the torch from each other.
In the end, after a few falls at the head of the peloton, it was the leader's teammate, Ivan Ortola (OpenBank Aspar Team), which won this fight for second place, behind an inaccessible David Alonso (OpenBank Aspar Team) at the end of the 16 laps of this first race, thus ensuring a double for the Aspar team.
Mixed start for the French, Gabin Planques (Larresport Carré d’or) finishing 17th, Amaury Mizera (MHP-Tech Solutions) 23rd and Marceau Lapierre (MVK Dani Rivas Talent) 24th while Ilan Peron (MediaSystem Team), Bartholomé Perrin (French Speed Team) and Matéo Pédeneau (MHP-Tech Solutions) were forced to abandon.
After this first victory, and partly thanks to an excellent start, the second race was not more complicated for David Alonso who went it alone despite a fairly tough rival in the person of his own teammate, Ivan Ortola, who only took one lap to return to battle for 2nd position with Angel Piqueras (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Junior Team) after starting 5th.
However, the one who could have finished second again received a penalty of two Long Laps for having anticipated the start, leaving the last two steps of the podium to Angel Piqueras (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Junior Team) and Alberto Ferrandez (Cuna de campeones).
David Alonso : " I am happy and excited by this double victory. In the first race, I didn't expect to get away from the others from the start, and when I saw the difference on the panel, I focused on setting a good pace, lap by lap, and continuing to increase my gap until the checkered flag. Then, in the second race, I needed a little more, because my rivals were faster. In the last part of the race, I was able to delay a little and maintain my pace to reach the finish line on my hand. Also, we had a small problem on the bike before the start of the race, but the team worked hard to resolve it and, in the end, I was able to give them this victory. »
In the French clan, it's a new time Guillem Planques, who this year receives advice from Randy de Puniet, who is doing the best, while Matéo Pédeneau and Bartholomé Perrin had better luck than in the first race, the latter making notable progress on the clock.
In the championship, the domination of David Alonso is already incontestable, given the regularity ofAlberto Ferrandez, twice third.
The revenge will be played in Portimão next Monday.
